EDMOND — A widow was scammed out of thousands of dollars when an online relationship with a "three-star general" turned out to be nothing more than a romantic ruse.

Using a photo of an actual retired general, the scammer was able to fool the victim, Phyllis Lindsey, 70, of Edmond, into thinking she was communicating with a U.S. Army general stationed in Syria.

“He reached out to me. We just started talking and he seemed like a very nice guy,” Lindsey told The Oklahoman last week. "The romance happened really fast."

She said "the general" promised her love, marriage and life "happily ever after."

“I was very foolish. I bought into the whole bit,” she said. “I admit, I am vulnerable. I'm a widow.”

She said "the general" claimed to have a home in Florida but was wanting to move back to Oklahoma.

“He was saying he wanted to come home to me," she said.

The FBI is investigating the romance scam, according to records filed in Oklahoma City federal court. Those records don't reveal if agents have determined the identity of the scammer.

"The general" contacted Lindsey through Facebook. He called himself "Gen. Lester Holmes," she said.

“He immediately started romancing me, which is the whole name of the game,” Lindsey said. “He loved me and he wanted to marry me and blah, blah, blah. He was going to take me all over the world.

"He knew what to say. He was very good at saying the right thing.”

At the request of "the general," Lindsey made four wire transfers in October totaling $226,700, according to an FBI special agent. She believed the payments were for the delivery of a piece of luggage containing his discharge papers and money.

“What he kept needing was more money to get his luggage delivered to me so that I could get the paperwork out and send it to him,” Lindsey said.

The fourth wire transfer, totaling $100,000, was frozen after Lindsey's son discovered she was being scammed and contacted the FBI, the agent reported in a court affidavit. The $100,000 was recovered this month from a bank in Atlanta, records show.

The profile picture on a Facebook page for "Lester Holmes" shows a man in a military uniform with three stars on his hat and shoulders. The photo, though, is of retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Christopher C. Bogdan, the former program executive officer for the F-35 Joint Program Office in Washington, D.C.

The program's spokesman, Joe DellaVedova, said this type of scam sullies Bogdan's good name and reputation.

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"It's reprehensible that someone would steal the identity of a military leader. These are crimes in a brave new world," the spokesman said. "There's two victims here. There's the woman who was duped by cyber criminals and the general."

A spokeswoman with the U.S. Air Force said this type of social media fraud is common due to military officials' photos being easily accessible online. There appears to be at least two fake Facebook accounts currently using Bogdan's name and photos.

Red flags

Lindsey began communicating with "the general" through Facebook and email in August, according to the FBI. She said it was the first time she has gotten romantically involved online.

“I never heard his voice, which was probably a red flag,” she said.

"The general" said he wasn't allowed to have a phone while stationed in Syria, Lindsey said. She also communicated through email with someone claiming to be "the general's son."

"I can see some red flags now that I did not pick up on,” she said.

"The general" wanted to see photos of her home, know if she worked or was retired and if she had any investments, she said. The money transferred to "the general" came from her retirement "nest egg," she said.

"It was quite a hit," Lindsey said. "That was my retirement. And what really irritates me is he knew it. I said, ‘You're draining me dry.'”

She said "the general" told her he would pay her back with interest and that the luggage also had $2.8 million dollars inside. No luggage ever arrived at her home.

Lindsey said she also was hurt emotionally by the scam.

“It was very emotionally draining. It was hard but by golly I'm going to go on. This is not going to get me,” she said.

Lindsey said she hopes other women will learn from her story.

"Don't give them any money. ... You can't do that. I was stupid and I realize I was stupid now. And don't believe all the romance," she said. "Don't believe everything you hear. ... I was very naive and did not realize what was out there."

Kyle Schwab

Kyle Schwab has been a reporter for The Oklahoman newspaper since 2013. He currently covers Oklahoma City courts. He graduated from the University of Central Oklahoma with a major in journalism. He lives in Edmond.
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